India has grown from a one-dominant party system to a multi-party system. Roughly, 150 seats in the Lok Sabha are accounted for by state or regional parties. These parties had won 146 seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and 151 seats in the 2004 elections. This is about 27% of the 542 Lok Sabha seats.

Let us take a look at the top 10 state parties of India:

Table 1: Top 10 state parties in Lok Sabha

These parties are important in Indian politics not only because they hold a considerable chunk of seats in the Lok Sabha but also because of their influence in the respective states. All these parties have a strong hold on the state Governments and the Chief Ministers in these states mostly belong to these parties.

The exceptions are Maharashtra where the Shiv Sena had a brief stint in power from 1995-1999, and West Bengal where Mamata Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress was able to uproot the 34-year long Left rule only in 2011.

India’s Election Commission has classified political parties in three categories: national parties, state parties and registered (unrecognised) parties. All parties that contest the elections are registered with the Commission with a symbol allotted to them. But they get recognition as state or national parties based on their performance in the elections- the vote share they get and the number of seats they win.

National Parties – A party is recognised as a national party in India when it has candidates contesting elections to the Lok Sabha from four or more states. The party must be a state party in four or more states as well. Also, it must have won at least 2% of the total seats in the last Lok Sabha.

State Parties – For a party to be recognised as a state party, it must have at least 6% of the vote share in both assembly and Lok Sabha elections from that particular state. Also, it must have at least one member in the Lok Sabha from that state and two members in the legislative assembly of the state.

IndiaSpend, in an earlier report, tried to explore how national issues do not cloud the regional concerns of citizens in national elections. It is because of the mobilisation of these state parties that the balance between national and regional interests is maintained in India.

The first successful coalition Government at the centre was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government from 1999 to 2004. Successful because it lasted the full term. Other attempts at coalitions only led to instability in the Government, and commentators had begun to question the Parliamentary system in India. Now, the Indian Parliament has seen three terms of coalitions, two terms of UPA included.

Some theory here. The importance of the state parties lies not only in the fact that they rule in the states but also in coalitions. By supporting the Government, they help in maintaining stability. At the same time, they check the centralising tendencies within the polity. Policy in India is, therefore, no longer formulated by a central Government. Leaders from state parties have charge of important ministries in the central Government and can influence the decision-making process.

AAP: The New Contender And Some Lessons From the Delhi Elections In 2013

After the Delhi elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) became a state party in Delhi. Not only was AAP able to rise to the status of a recognised state party but it also got a chance form the Government after its very first contest.

AAP has fielded 434 candidates in the present Lok Sabha elections. In the 2009 elections, the maximum number of candidates from a national party was 500 from BSP. And the largest number of candidates from state parties was from SP at 95. Therefore, AAP is the largest party in India right now because of the large number of contestants. SP, the largest state party after the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and also the third largest party among all parties, has only 80 candidates for the current elections.

As new parties enter multi-party politics, votes get divided and one party’s loss is another party’s gain. We saw in the Delhi elections how AAP won both Congress and BJP seats. It won 17 of Congress’ 43 seats from the previous assembly and 11 out of 23 BJP seats. BJP emerged as the single largest party because the election was mostly anti-Congress rather than pro-BJP or pro- AAP. Thus, BJP also got 17 of Congress’ seats.

The impact of the anti-corruption agenda of AAP cannot be overlooked, and the manifestos of all parties find a section devoted to the issue. Also, the rise of this party to power in Delhi has definitely made others concerned about losing not only votes but also seats to them. Of course, voters across India may or may not be driven by the same motivations as those in Delhi.

(April 15 ‘14) Bharatiya Janata Party is a Goonda Party which chases a Goonda (Modi) instead of worshipping this Avatar who can make India the supreme military and economic power in the world immediately (see below); it must be destroyed.
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(April 9 ‘14) Azam Khan says India’s Muslim soldiers won the Kargil war for India. I have said for years that the Kargil war was started by Pakistan’s army chief Musharraf on the CIA’s orders to make Vajpayee win the election that was pending after he had lost a vote of confidence as prime minister; that Hindu-Muslim conflict before 1947 was created and managed by the Intelligence Bureau leading to the partition of the country and its Indian and Pakistani successors (RAW & ISI which cooperated in the Kargil war & terror attacks such as the November 26, 2008 attack on Mumbai, etc.) continue to do so after 1947.

(April 4-6 ‘14) The opinions and votes of India’s slave population suffering from mass-psychosis (below) do not matter; only nuclear weapons matter — to simultaneously destroy Washington, New York, RAW headquarters, South Block and North Block with a warning that additional U.S. cities will be destroyed, with nuclear warheads already emplaced in them, if there is any retaliation or sign of retaliation. In a letter dated July 27, 1982 to Indira Gandhi as prime minister I referred to an act, by American Jews, that was “the equivalent of an annihilatory nuclear first strike on India”. In her reply dated July 29, 1982 she wrote “Dear Mr. Chandra, I have received your letter dated July 27, 1982 and am passing it on to my Principal Secretary to deal with it. Sincerely, Indira Gandhi”. In December, 1982 I wrote to her “There was sudden, terminal, overwhelming violence against me during a seminar at Harvard University and rather similar occurrences earlier… India can expect sudden, annihilatory violence … with nuclear weapons … against its population … unless it can mount a decisively superior force to stop it”. Following my advice, India’s strategic program, including the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme and the Centre for Advanced Technology, was started to give India victory in a nuclear war with the United States and because of my influence on her, Indira Gandhi as prime minister was assassinated by CIA-RAW and later when Rajiv Gandhi realized the truth of what I had written to her after the American invasion of Iraq which was the first Gulf War, he was also assassinated by CIA-RAW. In the past few years, I have had India’s nuclear forces emplace nuclear warheads in Washington, New York and other U.S. cities and India is now in a position to destroy the United States without being destroyed. In fact, India is in a position now to destroy the United States without itself suffering a single casualty by triggering its nuclear warheads emplaced in Washington and New York with a warning that additional U.S. cities will be similarly destroyed if there is any retaliation or sign of retaliation. Note that Vajpayee could not have done that because of his relationship with the CIA which brought and kept him in office. The same is the case with all other Indian politicians because of their participation in the CIA’s crimes against me which the CIA can threaten to expose.

This is what I said when asked if India is just a pawn. “Yes, it is a pawn, a slave, a society suffering from mass-psychosis. Despite the recent revelations about M. K. Gandhi being a homosexual who reveled in his “slavery with a vengeance” to the white man, who engaged in a fake ‘freedom struggle” with the British managed by the Intelligence Bureau, the entire Indian government went to his memorial on his death anniversary this January 30, 2012 to pay tribute. India is a very sick society. (I had urged that all his portraits in government offices, etc. be burned). … By saying that India is suffering from mass-psychosis, I am being generous and kind of giving it the excuse of being ill (of the several hats I wear, I am also a mental health professional) but a country of 1.2 billion people being so terrified of much smaller numbers of people from half way around the world cannot really be excused. … ” (see RAWsTraffickingOfIndianChildrenDOTblogspotDOTcom ).

(The above is about one-sixth of my comment; the full comment can be found at IndiasLegitimateRulerSatishChandraDOTblogspotDOTcom ).

I Dot understand Why Indian Media always remain biased to the BSP , Its just because she is dalit leader. She is the biggest national party after Congress and BJP and ahead then BJP in filing one of the maximum candidates in the country . BSP also bags one of teh highest vote shares . Please refresh your stats and please always put up right comments and reports not the biased ones.

(April 15 ‘14) Bharatiya Janata Party is a Goonda Party which chases a Goonda (Modi) instead of worshipping this Avatar who can make India the supreme military and economic power in the world immediately (see below); it must be destroyed. Regarding the BJP president’s statement about not changing the “no first use” of nuclear weapons: what these Goondas (including Goondas like K. Subrahmanyam; see ‘Offer to Me by CIA Director and K. Subrahmanyam‘: HaydenSubrahmanyamDOTblogspotDOTcom ) working for the CIA say does not matter, only what Satish Chandra says matters. I have made abundantly clear India’s plans (see below) for the first use of nuclear weapons against the United States without itself suffering a single casualty. And see what I have said below about the Goonda M. K. Gandhi.

(April 9 ‘14) Azam Khan says India’s Muslim soldiers won the Kargil war for India. I have said for years that the Kargil war was started by Pakistan’s army chief Musharraf on the CIA’s orders to make Vajpayee win the election that was pending after he had lost a vote of confidence as prime minister; that Hindu-Muslim conflict before 1947 was created and managed by the Intelligence Bureau leading to the partition of the country and its Indian and Pakistani successors (RAW & ISI which cooperated in the Kargil war & terror attacks such as the November 26, 2008 attack on Mumbai, etc.) continue to do so after 1947.

(April 4-6 ‘14) The opinions and votes of India’s slave population suffering from mass-psychosis (below) do not matter; only nuclear weapons matter — to simultaneously destroy Washington, New York, RAW headquarters, South Block and North Block with a warning that additional U.S. cities will be destroyed, with nuclear warheads already emplaced in them, if there is any retaliation or sign of retaliation. In a letter dated July 27, 1982 to Indira Gandhi as prime minister I referred to an act, by American Jews, that was “the equivalent of an annihilatory nuclear first strike on India”. In her reply dated July 29, 1982 she wrote “Dear Mr. Chandra, I have received your letter dated July 27, 1982 and am passing it on to my Principal Secretary to deal with it. Sincerely, Indira Gandhi”. In December, 1982 I wrote to her “There was sudden, terminal, overwhelming violence against me during a seminar at Harvard University and rather similar occurrences earlier… India can expect sudden, annihilatory violence … with nuclear weapons … against its population … unless it can mount a decisively superior force to stop it”. Following my advice, India’s strategic program, including the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme and the Centre for Advanced Technology, was started to give India victory in a nuclear war with the United States and because of my influence on her, Indira Gandhi as prime minister was assassinated by CIA-RAW and later when Rajiv Gandhi realized the truth of what I had written to her after the American invasion of Iraq which was the first Gulf War, he was also assassinated by CIA-RAW. In the past few years, I have had India’s nuclear forces emplace nuclear warheads in Washington, New York and other U.S. cities and India is now in a position to destroy the United States without being destroyed. In fact, India is in a position now to destroy the United States without itself suffering a single casualty by triggering its nuclear warheads emplaced in Washington and New York with a warning that additional U.S. cities will be similarly destroyed if there is any retaliation or sign of retaliation. Note that Vajpayee could not have done that because of his relationship with the CIA which brought and kept him in office. The same is the case with all other Indian politicians because of their participation in the CIA’s crimes against me which the CIA can threaten to expose.

This is what I said when asked if India is just a pawn. “Yes, it is a pawn, a slave, a society suffering from mass-psychosis. Despite the recent revelations about M. K. Gandhi being a homosexual who reveled in his “slavery with a vengeance” to the white man, who engaged in a fake ‘freedom struggle” with the British managed by the Intelligence Bureau, the entire Indian government went to his memorial on his death anniversary this January 30, 2012 to pay tribute. India is a very sick society. (I had urged that all his portraits in government offices, etc. be burned). … By saying that India is suffering from mass-psychosis, I am being generous and kind of giving it the excuse of being ill (of the several hats I wear, I am also a mental health professional) but a country of 1.2 billion people being so terrified of much smaller numbers of people from half way around the world cannot really be excused. … ” (see RAWsTraffickingOfIndianChildrenDOTblogspotDOTcom ).

(The above is about one-fifth of my comment; the full comment can be found at IndiasLegitimateRulerSatishChandraDOTblogspotDOTcom ).

Say ‘No’ to elections and Goondas like Modi and Sonia-Rahul. “Insanely handsome” Avatar of Shiva, Satish Chandra, being suppressed on orders of the CIA, can make India the world’s supreme military and economic power immediately: IndiasLegitimateRulerSatishChandraDOTblogspotDOTcom

I have a feeling AAP is going to get a vote share of +10%. How that translates in to seats is anybody’s guess. With the good clean candidates AAP has put there is a silent constituency- bar caste creed and status- that is going to come together and vote for them.

It is not because she is a dalit leader. It’s because she herself completely avoid the media. Her party members don’t go to tv debate. They don’t have a social media presence and don’t even release manifestos for the media to discuss and debate. She is a victim of her own arrogance.